Austin Homebrew Supply

[Homercidal]

I recently needed some supplies and decided to go online since a trip to my regular stores was not on the schedule. I originally shopped Midwest because I wanted to order a Plastic BMB primary too, but I had problems with their site. I ended up at Austin when Midwest wiped my cart clean on 2 separate attempts to purchase. S crew that!

Austin was much farther away but I got my stuff in a good amount of time. I got milled grain, but that may have been my fault in forgetting to uncheck the default option.

 

[hunter_le five]

I give Austin Homebrew two thumbs up on the last transaction I had with them 2 weeks ago.
I was given a bag of wine corks for Christmas, unfortunately they weren't the corks that I use, I called Austin Homebrew and spoke with a gentleman that ensured me that I could return the corks, even without a receipt (they were still sealed in the Austin Homebrew bag/packaging). I was promptly issued a store credit for the total of the corks, and I purchased the correct corks; these were shipped out the same day they received them, all verified by tracking numbers and emails that Austin Homebrew emailed me every step of the way through the process.
I received the replacement corks much faster than I expected even though I selected the normal shipping option.
Like I stated before, a big 2 thumbs up!

The one time I had to return stuff they were super cool about it. Got a bunch of stuff from AHS for Christmas gifts, and it turned out about half of the stuff I got I either already had, or otherwise couldn't use. Very thoughtful of my family, but poorly executed.

AHS took it all back, no questions asked, and gave me a bunch of store credit, which I was perfectly happy with. Used all of it right then and there on the spot getting stuff I could actually use.

 

[gometz]

I've become very disappointed with AHS. They were my original store when I started brewing (I remember their tiny location from about 12 years ago), but over the last few years they've gone way downhill.

I know there were issues with stocking items when the owner put all his money into his brewery, but even now they don't even stock normal items. I got a $50 certificate from there and have tried ordering three recipes from them and they are always out of something or just don't carry it (Belgian pilsner malt and 6 row were out and don't carry dark Munich malt).

Their customer service is great though. When I was young they'd be nice, but not too helpful to be honest.

 

[011COACH]

I've become very disappointed with AHS. They were my original store when I started brewing (I remember their tiny location from about 12 years ago), but over the last few years they've gone way downhill.

I know there were issues with stocking items when the owner put all his money into his brewery, but even now they don't even stock normal items. I got a $50 certificate from there and have tried ordering three recipes from them and they are always out of something or just don't carry it (Belgian pilsner malt and 6 row were out and don't carry dark Munich malt).

Their customer service is great though. When I was young they'd be nice, but not too helpful to be honest.

Are they still owned by the same guy? Does anyone know? Has anyone thought to contact him directly?

 

[Rhumbline]

Are they still owned by the same guy? Does anyone know? Has anyone thought to contact him directly?

Oil used them all the time but stopped when they were reshuffling things. I did recently place an order and it arrived promptly and was well packed.

Off topic... 011Coach, are your stats correct? Joined in 2011 and this is your first post?

 

[austinbrewer123]

AHB got bought out and the old owner is gone. I was in there last week and was blown away by the amount of product they had in the store. THere were hundreds of wine kits, kegs, keggels, pots, you name it. I haven't seen that product much in that store, ever! Two of the guys working there had adventures in homebrewing shirts on and said they had bought Austin Homebrew and were going to turn it around. I've heard this from AHB before, but seeing those two guys and all that product gives me a lot of hope that my store is back and that I don't have to shop with northern anymore.

 

[gometz]

Somehow my post from Friday didn't go through.

I ordered the grains for 2 batches and everything arrived within 2 days of my order. Their customer service is really top notch, Adam helped me out when I had issues with my coupon (I was entering it into the wrong place) and followed up to make sure everything was alright. He also mentioned that they are under new ownership, so it looks like they are on an upswing. Great to hear and I'll be ordering from them more often now.

 

[Frostbrewer]

If AIH bought them out then they are in great hands. I love adventures in homebrewing

 

[DromJohn]

If AIH has bought AHS, then should we expect an increase in organic offerings from the town of Whole Foods and Jester?

 

[gometz]

So a little update on my recent order. I don't know what setting they use on their mill, but I got ridiculous efficiency on both batches made with grain from AHS.

My hefeweizen (65% wheat) had an efficiency of 80% (I actually had planned to do a 6 gallon batch but forgot to increase my grain in my spreadsheet, this allowed me to do it anyways). Then the export (target OG of 1.057) had an efficiency of 90%! I had to double check my hydrometer, but it was right.

So keep that in mind when ordering, they do a great job.

 

[BigJack]

I found the Cereal Killer mill on their website. I guess they are basically AIH South at this point, which is a good thing.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/Beer/Mills/

 

[steveoatley]

If you check the AIH website
Go to
Join our Team - Jobs
They have a Job posting for Austin - TX for a Shipping clerk (7/7/15)

http://www.homebrewing.org/Join-Our-Team_ep_66-1.html

AIH was my First !!!

Still Love them - Jay is the man !

S

 

[joe_four_strings]

I placed my first order from AHS last week. I ordered grain and yeast for a small batch and decided for them because they sell the grain in 4oz increments, which worked perfect for what I needed. I got my order yesterday and it was very well packed and it only took 3 business days. I'll definitely return.

 

[DromJohn]

By the quarter pound means no longer by the ounce. Quarter pound is still better than most.

 

[fenners]

AHB got bought out and the old owner is gone. I was in there last week and was blown away by the amount of product they had in the store. THere were hundreds of wine kits, kegs, keggels, pots, you name it. I haven't seen that product much in that store, ever! Two of the guys working there had adventures in homebrewing shirts on and said they had bought Austin Homebrew and were going to turn it around. I've heard this from AHB before, but seeing those two guys and all that product gives me a lot of hope that my store is back and that I don't have to shop with northern anymore.

Yeah, stock levels have improved in store & they have large piles of kegs, keggles etc that have been unavailable for a long time. Staff in-store is almost totally different to 18 months ago too - haven't seen any of the old faces in a long time.

It does feel like some prices are creeping up, particularly hops, but is that happening across the market?

 

[Bigcorona]

Unfortunately I am reporting another fail at AHS. Was there last Friday to purchase a couple bags of 2-row. They were out. Also only 1 package of US-05. Hard to understand how a LHBS can be out of 2-row and US-05.

It is unlikely I will shop them again.

 

[noggins]

I LOOOVE AHS!!! I've got 3 LHBS near me, Austin is so much better. I placed an order 2 days ago and it just arrived on my doorstep for free!

Ok...I agree with everyone their site is a little weird and hard to browse and sort the hundreds of kits they offer in any sort of useful way; so I made this to help me peruse, feel free to use it at your own risk: http://ahs.noggins.info

 

[jschein]

I LOOOVE AHS!!! I've got 3 LHBS near me, Austin is so much better. I placed an order 2 days ago and it just arrived on my doorstep for free!

Ok...I agree with everyone their site is a little weird and hard to browse and sort the hundreds of kits they offer in any sort of useful way; so I made this to help me peruse, feel free to use it at your own risk: http://ahs.noggins.info

Nice sheet!

 

[czmkid]

I LOOOVE AHS!!! I've got 3 LHBS near me, Austin is so much better. I placed an order 2 days ago and it just arrived on my doorstep for free!

Ok...I agree with everyone their site is a little weird and hard to browse and sort the hundreds of kits they offer in any sort of useful way; so I made this to help me peruse, feel free to use it at your own risk: http://ahs.noggins.info

Wow thanks for the spread sheet! So much easier to find stuff and that's saying a lot as they are local to me and I shop 95% of the time there. Wayyyyyy cool!

 

[kerklein2]

I can confirm they were bought by AIH. I was able to get some parts that AHS didn't have by having them shipped in from AIH. The sales guy had me just go to AIH's website to show him and it came in a couple days later.

 

[CJ-3]

Just received my first purchase from AHS and I was really impressed.
Ordered late Saturday the 2nd
Got an email Sunday the 3rd that my order was being processed.
Got another email Monday the 4th that my order was shipped.
Received it (today ) Thursday the 7th
Everything was packed carefully, everything was separated into my different orders.
I will definitely buy from them again.

 

[beerfactory]

I would agree as I have had similar experiences with AHS. The company has excellent service and I fully intend to continue as a customer.

 

[Elkobrewer]

I just received my first order from them this week as well. The magic hat #9 clone. Has anybody tried their clones? Hope there good

 

[gspot]

Great customer service! I had to call them today and was very satisfied with the way I was treated. On Dec 19, I ordered a four-pack of their used ball-lock kegs. Three were fine, but the fourth looked like it was recovered from the bottom of the sea. The bottom was encrusted with what looked like calciferous algae that wouldn't come off. The real problem however was inside which looked like it had been shellaced. No matter what I tried I couldn't get it clean. I tried for THREE months soaking it alternately in PBW and CLR, refilling with fresh solution every week and scrubbing, and the "varnish" wouldn't come off. There was about two inches of hardened syrup in the bottom that I was able to bust out with rebar and a hammer because it wouldn't dissolve either. I don't know if the pressure at the bottom of the ocean contributed to the problem, but it wasn't coming clean no matter what. I called and asked if I could exchange it, and the friendly representative offered to send me a replacement and a return label for the defective one. I will definitely shop with them again in the future because I tried my best to make it work, and when it didn't, I feel like I was treated very fairly by AHS.

 

[noggins]

They updated their site this week(again), among other things you can now view prices of all items without having to view the item, and can sort lists by price, both of which are great for picking out recipes on a budget. The site also seems to be loading pages much faster than I remember

 

[Bilsch]

This company is really great. Ordered some used kegs and when they came, there were some small issues. So I emailed a couple pictures an instantly they sent a return tag and are going to replace two of them. Just like that, no troubles. An example of really great customer service.

This compared to my recent keg order from AIH which was decidedly not a good experience. Night and day.

 

[jmill]

I have ordered many times from AHS since I began brewing a few months ago and have nothing but good things to say about AHS.

Web orders are always filled very quickly and shipped same or next day. $5 flat rate shipping for orders over $50 in state. Everything has been well-packed, and even the glass carboy in my starter kit showed up unbroken. I don't live that far from their store, but my work schedule makes it far more convenient to go with mail order most of the time.

In store customer service has always been great. I was lucky enough to randomly show up on the big brew day and was handed brats and samples. And my last store pick up order with bulk grains was extremely easy since they had all my stuff bagged up and ready to go.

One thing to note (not really a complaint): If you visit the store during busy times, like a Saturday afternoon, expect some wait if you need help. The staff is very friendly and attentive, but are willing to answer every question their current customer may ask....even if that customer is asking their opinion on every ale yeast strain that they carry.

 

[fenners]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned - grain is now 'mill it yourself' in the previously closed off grain room. Relatively big change for AHS!

 

[Domminigan]

Every time I've ordered from AHS has been just excellent. I made another order from them recently and am again impressed by their quick shipping, excellent packaging and really great products.

 

[czmkid]

I drove in today to pick up a kit and was surprised that all of the individual bittering hops in this particular kit had been replaced with an in house mix of an 'HBU' hop pellet pack. I asked what hops made up the 3-4-5-&10 HBU packs and no one could give me an answer. I asked how many oz were in each of these HBU packs and again no answer.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/10-HBU-Hop-Pellet-Pack_p_7407.html


"DESCRIPTION
Austin homebrew supply is reintroducing the best way to bitter your homebrew, the Home Bittering Unit. 95% of AHS recipes are configured to use HBU hop pellet packs for bittering. Use of HBU guarantees that from batch to batch of homebrew and from harvest to harvest of hops, the recipe you brew from AHS will have 100% consistent bittering. Hop bines grow in Alpha Acids from year to year until the plant is split. That means one year a hop like saaz which is normally 3-4% AA might grow to 5% or 7% before the plant is split and the AA reduces back to normal range. What this means for your beer is inconsistency in bittering. AHS is removing this uncertainty/need to manually calculate IBU's with each batch, so that you can brew with confidence and certainty that the beer you made 1 year ago is the same as the beer your brewing now."


I then asked if I could just have the old recipe with the bittering hops that have come with this kit I have been buying for years and was told that the recipe was no longer in their database. I guess I could have brought in the old recipe printout in with me but whatever...next time.

So I guess my question is this....is the new kit the same price as the old kit even though it contains less bittering hops? And I asked and the answer from the floor mgr was 'this was done on the backend I don't know'. And I as the customer don't know either with out a previous price receipt.

Sounds to me like they are using bulk hops they ordered to much of and passing this off like it is a great thing. On that note, my recipes had 10 oz of Citra. The sales guy pulled all repackaged 1 oz packages of AHS citra hops. So I said nah, after looking at the condition of the hops and seals, that I will take the YCH hops that are sealed and flushed with nitrogen. Then I asked if the price was the same as the YCH and the answer was ya we save some money when buying in bulk...Do you pass that savings along to the customer? Nope.

Something just rubs me the wrong way about this....especially after spending 140$. I don't expect for things to be free, but some answers would have been nice, and or the option to have the old recipe made.


What are yalls thoughts on 'HBU' packs? Maybe I'm all wrong here?

 

[Gentlemans_Ale]

The customer service and selections are spot on! But I do remember being turned off by their repackaged hops last time I was in.

 

[ncbrewer]

I drove in today to pick up a kit and was surprised that all of the individual bittering hops in this particular kit had been replaced with an in house mix of an 'HBU' hop pellet pack. I asked what hops made up the 3-4-5-&10 HBU packs and no one could give me an answer. I asked how many oz were in each of these HBU packs and again no answer.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/10-HBU-Hop-Pellet-Pack_p_7407.html


"DESCRIPTION
Austin homebrew supply is reintroducing the best way to bitter your homebrew, the Home Bittering Unit. 95% of AHS recipes are configured to use HBU hop pellet packs for bittering. Use of HBU guarantees that from batch to batch of homebrew and from harvest to harvest of hops, the recipe you brew from AHS will have 100% consistent bittering. Hop bines grow in Alpha Acids from year to year until the plant is split. That means one year a hop like saaz which is normally 3-4% AA might grow to 5% or 7% before the plant is split and the AA reduces back to normal range. What this means for your beer is inconsistency in bittering. AHS is removing this uncertainty/need to manually calculate IBU's with each batch, so that you can brew with confidence and certainty that the beer you made 1 year ago is the same as the beer your brewing now."


I then asked if I could just have the old recipe with the bittering hops that have come with this kit I have been buying for years and was told that the recipe was no longer in their database. I guess I could have brought in the old recipe printout in with me but whatever...next time.

So I guess my question is this....is the new kit the same price as the old kit even though it contains less bittering hops? And I asked and the answer from the floor mgr was 'this was done on the backend I don't know'. And I as the customer don't know either with out a previous price receipt.

Sounds to me like they are using bulk hops they ordered to much of and passing this off like it is a great thing. On that note, my recipes had 10 oz of Citra. The sales guy pulled all repackaged 1 oz packages of AHS citra hops. So I said nah, after looking at the condition of the hops and seals, that I will take the YCH hops that are sealed and flushed with nitrogen. Then I asked if the price was the same as the YCH and the answer was ya we save some money when buying in bulk...Do you pass that savings along to the customer? Nope.

Something just rubs me the wrong way about this....especially after spending 140$. I don't expect for things to be free, but some answers would have been nice, and or the option to have the old recipe made.


What are yalls thoughts on 'HBU' packs? Maybe I'm all wrong here?

I think the HBU concept makes sense in order to get the target IBUs, but you should know what the hops are. And I'd have some concerns about repackaged hops with questionable seals.